Attorney General Paxton statement on SCOTUS marriage arguments

Published 6:40 am, Tuesday, April 28, 2015

HCN NEWS SERVICES

AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made the following statement regarding the oral arguments heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on the rights of the people and the states to define marriage:

“Today, the United States Supreme Court hears an important case that will define ordered liberty and self-government under the United States Constitution. At stake in this case is whether the people of the State of Texas—and people in the states across the nation—can make their own laws defining marriage. Seventy-six percent of Texas voters chose to define marriage as being between one man and one woman and I am committed to defending the Texas Constitution and self-government by Texans. That is why I joined with Louisiana and other states in filing an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court defending the will of the people of Texas.”

The Texas Attorney General’s Office in January defended the institution of marriage before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Earlier this month, Texas joined with the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office to file an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a federal appeals court’s ruling that affirmed the states’ constitutional authority to refuse to allow same-sex marriages or recognize existing same-sex marriages performed in other states.

To view the amicus brief joined by the Texas Attorney General’s Office, please visit: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/files/epress/files/2015/April/14-556%20562%20571%20574%20bsac%20Louisiana.pdf